using "I wanna" at an formal speech by Steve Jobs

[optimistic pessimist]

Dear all,

The following line is a part of a famous speech given by Steve Jobs at the graduation ceremony of Stanford University in 2005.

"...(Around 0:30) Today, I wanna tell you three stories from my lifie. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories...."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

I didn't know "wanna" can be used in such a formal speech. I wonder how it would sound if he had said "Today, I'd like to tell you thre stories...". Does it sound fine too?

Thank you!

OP

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs didn't need to worry about formality. When he spoke, people listened. He could have said "I want to" or "I would like to" or "I'd like to" or "Can I ...?" etc.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Formality was not a big concern of Steve Jobs.

 

[Amigos4]

You'll find the written transcript of the speech here. I'm confident Mr. Jobs intended to say 'want to' but it didn't come out of his mouth that way!

 

[emsr2d2]

That may be the case but I'm pretty certain he would happily have purposely said "wanna" and thought no more of it. When someone is as successful and influential as Steve Jobs, people listen to the content of their speeches, not the grammar.

 

[Tdol]

He wouldn't have written it formally. People sometimes use abbreviations in talks and lectures- they don't have to talk as if they were writing.